HS Hockey: New Bedford takes big step in win over GNB Voc-Tech

NEW BEDFORD — It has been a few tough years for the New Bedford High hockey program, with numbers down and wins hard to come by. The Whalers took a giant step in the right direction Friday night by defeating GNB Voc-Tech 3-2 in the opening round of the New Bedford Christmas Tournament.

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By DEREK VITAL

southcoasttoday.com

By DEREK VITAL

Posted Dec. 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By DEREK VITAL

Posted Dec. 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

NEW BEDFORD — It has been a few tough years for the New Bedford High hockey program, with numbers down and wins hard to come by. The Whalers took a giant step in the right direction Friday night by defeating GNB Voc-Tech 3-2 in the opening round of the New Bedford Christmas Tournament.

With the win, the Whalers (1-1) advance to the finals where they will take on Dartmouth. The championship tilt is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Hetland Rink.

"So happy for this team to be able to play for a championship," said New Bedford head coach John Sullivan. "The last couple of years we have struggled. I've never quit on these kids. I'm so proud these kids were able to find a way to get the win and reach the finals against Dartmouth."

"I thought Alex Fernandes was the difference for us in net," said Sullivan. "He came up big for us today."

Ferreira's first tally came with 9:35 remaining in the first period. Senior defenseman Matt Souza and junior forward Quinn Indio were credited with assists.

The Bears (1-1-1) got the equalizer in the final minutes of the opening frame when junior forward Adam Carvalho netted a power play goal.

In the opening minute of the second period, Ferreira struck again, giving the Whalers a 2-1 advantage. New Bedford increased its lead to 3-1 when Ferreira got a pretty feed from Indio and blasted a shot past GNB Voc-Tech goalie Ben Jenkins.

The Bears would make interesting when Carvalho netted a short-handed tally with 8:30 left to play. In the final minute, GNB Voc-Tech head coach Mike Frey opted to pull his goalie for an extra skater. The move gave Indio an open look at the Bears' net, but his bid clanged off the left post. GNB Voc-Tech defenseman Matt Costa fired a shot on goal as time expired which sailed over the head of Fernandes, setting off a wild celebration by the Whalers.

"We had many opportunities throughout the game," said Frey. "If you can't finish, you can't win. This is probably the worst game we've played in a long time."

SULLIVAN ON KEY TO VICTORY: "I told them the key to winning tonight was control your emotions, stay within yourself, win the defensive zone and look for those rebounds to score," said Sullivan. "We scored when we needed to and we won the battles when we needed to. It was a total team effort."

FREY ON BEARS' LACKLUSTER EFFORT: "There's a lot of seniors on this team. They've been through this many times and they know what they need to do to be competitive. New Bedford was so much more aggressive and intense. We had nothing. It was very disheartening to witness was we saw out there tonight."

NOTES: Should New Bedford manage to defeat Dartmouth tonight, it would be their first Christmas tournament title since 2008. GNB Voc-Tech has never captured the title in the tournament's 13 year history.